Broadband communication access, on which our society and economy is growing increasingly dependent, has generally not been readily available to users on board mobile platforms such as aircraft, ships, trains, automobiles or handheld devices. While the technology exists to deliver the broadband communication services to mobile platforms, conventional solutions are commercially unfeasible due to the relatively high costs and/or due to low data rates. These conventional solutions have therefore only been available to government/military users and/or to high-end maritime markets such as cruise ships.
One obstacle limiting mobile platform broadband services has been the limited availability of bandwidth that is governed in the United States by the Federal Communications Commission (FCC) and other governing bodies outside the United States. For example, the FCC set aside the Ku bandwidth between 10.7 and 15.0 GHz for the Fixed Satellite Service (FSS) and the Ka bandwidth between 18.0 and 31.0 GHz. Current regulations require transmissions from a fixed location such as a ground station. When mobile platforms such as airplanes receive a FSS uplink, they typically use services such as Airphone® for the return, or down, link. The airplanes do not currently use FSS for the down link because airplanes are mobile and do not currently fall within the FCC rules. The Airphone® services fail to provide sufficient bandwidth on the return link for the typical user. Therefore, when passengers attempt to send large files, the connection time is prohibitive from cost and dwell time perspectives.
The FCC and other governing bodies also strictly limit the power spectral density (PSD) of communication systems providing data services on the Ku and Ka bands. In other words, the bandwidth, dynamic range, and interference patterns of communication systems providing data services on the Ku and Ka bands are restricted to prevent interference with other neighboring satellites.
Therefore, a broadband communication system that provides users with sufficient forward and return bandwidth for entertainment, Internet, e-mail and other services on board mobile platforms would be desirable. Additionally, it would be desirable to provide such forward and return bandwidth that will not cause interference with neighboring satellites.